Cushioning system for container supports

ABSTRACT

A railway flatcar having container cushioning systems mounted below deck level in side wells constituted by inverted hat-shaped sections used also as trackways and to form the side sills. A plurality of cushioning systems is mounted in each side sill. Each system comprises two end carriages and one intermediate carriage carrying container support pedestals, interposed elastomeric sandwich pads or blocks in shear, and tie rods joining the system together for multistage longitudinal cushioning.

United States Patent James T. Brown Johnstown, Pa.

July 1 1, 1968 Jan. 12, l 97 l Bethlehem Steel Corporation a corporation of Delaware lnventor Appl. No. Filed Patented Assignee CUSHIONIN G SYSTEM FOR CONTAINER SUPPORTS 4 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

us. (:I 105/366, 248/1 19 1m. 01 B65j 1/22, I 860p 7/08 Field or Search 105/366,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,128,980 4/1968 Udstad et al 248/119 3,389,664 6/1968 Pulcrano et al 105/366 3,417,712 12/1968 Pulcrano et al 105/368 Primary Examiner- Drayton E. Hoffman Attorney-James T. Seavey ABSTRACT: A railway flatcar having container cushioning systems mounted below deck level in side wells constituted by inverted hat-shaped sections used also as trackways and to form the side sills. A plurality of cushioning systems is mounted in each side sill. Each system comprises two end carriages and one intermediate carriage carrying container support pedestals, interposed elastomeric sandwich pads or blocks in shear, and tie rods joining the system together for multistage longitudinal cushioning.

CUSHIONING SYSTEM FOR CONTAINER SUPPORTS I BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The field of art to which the invention pertains is that of railway rolling stock for transporting la'ding containers, and more specifically to flatcars provided with resilient means for cushioning said containers against longitudinal shocks.

It is well known in the patented art to engage and support on their lower comers one or more rectangular cargo containers by means of pedestals which in use will hold the containers a small predetermined distance above the car deck. However, such pedestals are generally restricted to fixed locations on the car deck, regardless of whether the mounting for said pedestal is rigid, as in FIG. 11 of Gutridge U.S. Pat. No. 3,107,634, issued Oct. 22, I963, or retractable, as in Connerat, US. Pat. No. 3,321,162, issued May 23, 1967, and are therefore not cushioned against operational shocks.

With modern railway flatcars for the transportation of freight containers, the containers when fully loaded are normally very heavy. Accordingly, their supports are required to be exceptionally well cushioned against massive operational shocks, particularly in longitudinal directions. The latter fact is especially emphasized by current high running speeds and such new appliances as long-travel draft gear and the long end couplers nowin use.

Conventional resilient means such as compression springs and rubber doughnuts tend to go-solid within a short range of movement, and then lose all effectiveness. A single set of elastomeric shear pads will give better 'but still insufficient results, so that the difficulty of supplying cushioning means which are adequate to protect loaded containers against sudden strong shocks, within necessary limitations of space, has not heretofore been successfullysolved.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of my invention is to overcome the difficulty above referred to, through the provisionof a plurality of elastomeric shear pads connected in a series arrangement.

The effect of the pads is cumulative and sequential, so that their cushioning response is proportioned to the operational riages under some pedestals. Secondary or supplemental cushioning is supplied by other shear pads actuated by means connecting the carriages in a unified assemblage.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the annexed drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation of a flat car for bearing a plurality of containers mounted in accordance with the present invention;

FIGS. 2 and 2a are fragmentary top plan views of a con-v tainer cushioning system divided at the line y-y and partly broken away to show the interaction of the means connecting the supporting carriages with the cushioning means;

FIGS. 3 and 3a are complementary side views similarly divided at the line yy of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a transverse vertical section on the line 4-4 of FIG.

3; and

FIG. 5 is an-enlarged side view of the end carriage shown in FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring more specifically to the drawings, the underframe of the subject flat car 11 is essentially conventional, except that the unitary inverted hat-shaped pressed sections 12 extend between the end sills 13 to form the outside longitudinal members of the car. In this construction, they constitute the side sills, and they additionally provide recesses or wells below the level of the deck 14 for enclosing and supporting the cushioning system and the carriages bearing the pedestals or other supporting means for the containers '14. Such wells may obviously also be fabricated of welded plates, if desired, but at somewhat greater cost than pressed hat-shaped sections.

A typical 89 foot flat car 11 will havea maximum capacity to transport either two 40 foot containers, four 20 foot containers, or one 40 foot and two 20 foot containers. For this size of car, two permanently attached container cushioning systems 15 as hereinafter described are built into each of the ,two hollow side sill portions 12 of said car 11. Each cushioning system will protect adequately against damage from longitudinal impact shocks on the car by permitting a total of l4 inches of controlled travel, fbre and aft, of container supporting equipment relative to the car body, and will also absorb normal vertical shock forces. On each side of the car, of course, the cushioning systems are similar but of opposite hand, and the following description of one system is to be understood as applicable to the systems of either side.

The reciprocable elements of each such system 15 include two opposite end carriages 16 and 17 and an intermediate carriage 18. These carriages are joined together endwise by tie rods 19 and 20.

As the end carriages 16 and 17 are virtually mirror images i of each other, a description of one such end carriage suffices for both. Thus, said end carriage 16 comprises a rectangular frame 21 fabricated of a pair of longitudinal upright channels 22 of which the webs 23 are held in parallel spaced relation by a plurality of welded transverse members. Said transverse members comprise an upright end plate 24, a horizontal plate 25 for attachment to a shear pad '26 (to be hereinafter described), an upright crossbar 27 and a U-shaped end forging 28.

Said frame 21 is supported at its outer end on wheels 29 mounted on axles 30 journaled in holes 31 through said U- shaped end forging 28, which forging is welded as an extension to the channels 22. A rubber bumper 32 on said end forging 28 is adapted to engage a stop block 33 secured to the adjacent end sill 13 of the car 11 when said end carriage 16 has reached its maximum horizontal deflection, typically l4 inches.

The inner end of each frame 21 is supported as stated above on an elastomeric shear pad 26. Each such shear pad 26 is of the elongated sandwich type shown. Said pad 26 comprises one or several cushion members 34 of rubber, rubberlike, or other suitable elastomeric material preferably having interleaved metal plates 35, all tightly vulcanized or adhesively bonded together, and with similarly bonded top and bottom face plates 36 and 37.

Through bolts 38 extend downwardly through holes 39 in the horizontal attachment plate 25 of said end carriage and thence through vertical holes 40 in thecushion members 34 said bolts 38 serve to mount saidshearblock 26 securely on the flat inner surface 42 of each side sill portion 12. This flat surface 42 also constitutes a longitudinal trackway for wheels 29 and 60. v

The end carriages l6 and 17 respectively carry the single container pedestals 43 and 44. As these single container pedestals are virtually mirror images of each other, a description of one such single container pedestal will also suffice for both. Each single container pedestal is essentially a rigid partially open boxlike cast, forged or welded housing 45 having normally vertical sidewalls 46 and 47. Each such housing 45 additionally includes a normally horizontal support wall 48 adapted to receive and support one lower corner of a container (not shown) at an elevation on the order of 6 or 8 inches above the car deck 14 so as to preserve clearance for a retracted trailer hitch (also not shown).

A transverse pivot pin 49 on each single container pedestal will permit said pedestal to rotate freely upwardly or downwardly on the webs 23 of its supporting carriage, so as to permit retraction of the pedestals when desired, as when trailers are to be transported.

The intermediate carriage 18 comprises a welded rectangular frame 50 including a pair of longitudinally extending sideplates 51 reinforced by outer sideplates 52. The ends of the sideplates 51 are held in parallel spaced relation by upright end plates 53 and 54 and top and bottom horizontal spacers 55 and 56. Spaced inwardly from the ends are transverse angles 57 and 58 and a crossbar 59. Said frame 50 is supported by wheels 60 on axles 61 extending laterally through said sideplates 51 and 52.

Said intermediate carriage 18 carries a double container pedestal 62, which is generally similar to the single container pedestal 43 in that it likewise includes vertical sidewalls 63 and a container support wall 64. However, the latter support wall 64 is of sufficient area and is surmounted by a pair of transverse vertical partitions 65 to enable adjacent corners of two oppositely facing containers to be supported thereon in spaced relation.

As the intermediate carriage 18 is not independently cushioned, and is required to be movable longitudinally in unison with the end carriages 16 and 17, the longitudinal tie rods 19 and 20 will operatively connect in properly spaced relation the ends of said intermediate carriage 18 with the adjacent ends of the end carriages 16 and 17. For this purpose, the end plates 24 of said end carriages l6 and 17 are provided with central holes 66, and the end plates 53 and 54 are provided with aligned holes 67 and 68. Each of said tie rods 19 and 20 includes a shank portion 69, also exteriorly threaded end portions 70 which project loosely through said holes 66, 67 and 68 and whereon are threaded nuts 71. Only the inner surfaces of the end plates 24 and 53 (i.e. those surfaces facing inwardly toward the pedestals on each carriage) make contact with said nuts 71 at any time. There are no nuts engaging the surfaces of the end plates facing away from the respective pedestals on each carriage. Accordingly, the tie rods 19 and 20 perform only a pulling function, that is, they will serve only in tension, but not in compression, when the carriages are in motion relative to each other. Compression is avoided by permitting said tie rods 19 and 20 to advance physically into the carriages whenever necessary.

Parallel pairs of additional resilient shear pads 72 are mounted on the flat inner surface 42 of the side sill 12, in the open spaces between said intermediate carriage 18 and the end carriages l6 and 17. ln each such pair of shear pads 72, the individual shear pads are similar to the shear pads 26 previously described, except that their top surfaces are joined by a single top plate 73, by which they are similarly bolted down and below which pass the tie rods 19 and 20. Depending from the under surface of said top plate 73 between the individual shear pads 72 of each pair are welded stop blocks 74, which engage outwardly spaced lateral projections such as the tubular sleeves 75 on the tie rods 19 and 20 when the longitudinal deflection of the carriages exceeds a predetermined distance, usually about 10 inches.

This adjustment is made when the full cushioning system is at rest. The tubular sleeves 75 are positioned on the tie rods 19 and 20 at 10 inch spacings fore and aft of the shear pads 72, and are welded securely in place on said tie rods 19 and 20.

Primary cushioning (for less than l inch displacement longitudinally under light impact loads in either direction), is then furnished solely by the shear pads 26 which directly support the end carriages l6 and 17. When the displacement under a heavier load is in excess of inches, the secondary cushioning necessary to accommodate an additional 4 inches of displacement is brought into action by the engagement of the stop blocks 74 of the paired shear pads with the tubular sleeves 75 on the tie rods 19 and 20. Any longitudinal motion in excess of the capacity of all the shear pads, which motion will be quite unusual, will be finally stopped by the impact of the rubber bumper 32 against the stop block 33.

By the above-described invention, the two-stage operation of the shear pads supplies increased retardation during the last 4 inches of full travel, under maximum normal impacts, so that the forces transmitted through the tie rods are eliminated from being carried through the container floor, which has been known to cause severe damage to containers and their contents in some prior support arrangements.

When the pedestals are made retractable, as above described, for convenience in trailer loading, they may conveniently be stored in the side sills when the pedestals are not in use, under deck openings which may be closed by hinged cover plates for effectively maintaining the continuity of the deck surface. When retractable pedestals on the end carriages 1 of one system are raised they are adapted to support end cornets of two short containers or one long container or other combinations, depending on whether the pedestals on the intermediate carriages are raised or lowered. However, some or all of said pedestals may be rigidly affixed as by welding in openings, which arrangement may be satisfactory without trailers and where only one size of container is regularly carf ried.

I claim:

1. The combination, in a railway car having a deck and side trackways, wherein the improvement comprises:

upright position on their respective carriages, if desired. They 3 will then permanently project upwardly through the deck a. a plurality of longitudinally spaced and reciprocable carsecured to the car;

e. each cushion member of the first group of said members further being operatively secured directly to a corresponding carriage;

f. the cushion members of the second group being arranged in parallel pairs of said members positioned in spaced relation between at least some of said carriages;

g. means connecting the carriages in aligned relationship;

and

h. said means connecting the carriages operably coacting with the second group of cushion members so as to apply in series successively differing stages of cushioning action against longitudinal shocks to said carriages.

2. The combination, in a railway car having a deck and side trackways, wherein the improvement comprises:

a. a pair of end carriages and an intermediate carriage reciprocably supported in each trackway;

b. container support means mounted on said carriages;

c. the means supporting each of the end carriages including an elastomeric shear pad mounted in the trackway and affording primary cushioning to said carriages;

d. wheeled means supporting the intermediate carriage;

e. additional elastomeric shear pads for secondary cushioning also mounted in said trackway;

f. rodlike members operatively connecting the carriages and extending between said additional elastomeric shear pads; and

g. projections on said rodlike members being so spaced longitudinally thereon as to operably engage said additional elastomeric shear pads whenever the longitudinal displacement of the carriages exceeds a predetermined distance.

3. The combination, in a railway car having a deck and lon- 70 gitudinal trackways, wherein the improvement comprises:

a. a pair of end carriages and an intermediate carriage in each trackway;

b. container support means mounted on said carriages,

c. tie rods connecting the carriages in end-to-end spaced relation;

d. the bottom face plate of each cushion member being i d. each end carriage being supported on one trackway by a said second shear cushions when the longitudinal deflecwheeled axleat one end and by ,afirst elastomeric shear tion of the carriages under operational shocks has excushion at its other end; ceeded a predetermined distance, thereby providing supe. the intermediate carriage being suppotted on said plementai hi ng to i arri gesn-ackway by wheeled axles ah ends f id carriage; 5 4. The combination as claimed in claim 3, wherein the tie f. second elastomeric shear cushions being mounted in said rods of p g p are t s and construe! as trackways in spaced relationbetween said intermediate function y in ension but at no time wmpressioncarriage and the end carriages; and when the carriages are in motion relative to each other.

3. means on said tie rods adapted-to engage and activate m 

1. The combination, in a railway car having a deck and side trackways, wherein the improvement comprises: a. a plurality of longitudinally spaced and reciprocable carriages in said trackways; b. container support means on each carriage; c. a plurality of cushion members of the shear pad type functionally arranged in two groups with each member comprising an elastomeric block and top and bottom face plates; d. the bottom face plate of each cushion member being secured to the car; e. each cushion member of the first group of said members further being operatively secured directly to a corresponding carriage; f. the cushion members of the second group being arranged in parallel pairs of said members positioned in spaced relation between at least some of said carriages; g. means connecting the carriages in aligned relationship; and h. said means connecting the carriages operably coacting with the second group of cushion members so as to apply in series successively differing stages of cushioning action against longitudinal shocks to said carriages.
 2. The combination, in a railway car having a deck and side trackways, wherein the improvement comprises: a. a pair of end carriages and an intermediate carriage reciprocably supported in eAch trackway; b. container support means mounted on said carriages; c. the means supporting each of the end carriages including an elastomeric shear pad mounted in the trackway and affording primary cushioning to said carriages; d. wheeled means supporting the intermediate carriage; e. additional elastomeric shear pads for secondary cushioning also mounted in said trackway; f. rodlike members operatively connecting the carriages and extending between said additional elastomeric shear pads; and g. projections on said rodlike members being so spaced longitudinally thereon as to operably engage said additional elastomeric shear pads whenever the longitudinal displacement of the carriages exceeds a predetermined distance.
 3. The combination, in a railway car having a deck and longitudinal trackways, wherein the improvement comprises: a. a pair of end carriages and an intermediate carriage in each trackway; b. container support means mounted on said carriages; c. tie rods connecting the carriages in end-to-end spaced relation; d. each end carriage being supported on one trackway by a wheeled axle at one end and by a first elastomeric shear cushion at its other end; e. the intermediate carriage being supported on said trackway by wheeled axles at both ends of said carriage; f. second elastomeric shear cushions being mounted in said trackways in spaced relation between said intermediate carriage and the end carriages; and g. means on said tie rods adapted to engage and activate said second shear cushions when the longitudinal deflection of the carriages under operational shocks has exceeded a predetermined distance, thereby providing supplemental cushioning to said carriages.
 4. The combination as claimed in claim 3, wherein the tie rods of subparagraph c. are so arranged and constructed as to function only in tension but at no time under compression, when the carriages are in motion relative to each other. 